Payne, David and Betty - A Rocha
Payne main pagePrayer Letter August 2007 (Acrobat pdf format also available - click here)
"The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds."
- 2 Cor. 10:4
It’s more than a year since we wrote about the serious situation at A Rocha’s main conservation site in Portugal. A Rocha owns very little land, and works in cooperation with local landowners and local authorities. Last year a significant area changed hands, where the Portugal team has monitored and researched a large variety of plants, animals and insects for over 20 years. The new owner of Quinta da Rocha is a developer, and – quite illegally – he brought on heavy machinery and destroyed many of the unique wetland habitats where thousands of birds rest and feed during the migrating season.
The new owner has refused permission for the team to continue their long-term scientific studies on this property, and they have had to watch potentially irreversible damage being done to the natural landscape. He illegally drained part of the eastern marsh, ploughed up much of the wildflower-rich headland and displayed plans to build hotels and golf-courses, which would destroy the conservation value forever. The Ministry of Environment issued an embargo bringing the earthmoving machinery to a halt, but not before 25% of a rare species of plant, Thymus camphorates, had been lost. Despite that, tractors have continued to plough land regardless of its value for wildlife and without any plan agreed with the authorities for its future development for tourism.
Above: Destruction of the Ria de Alvor wetlands last year
Last year the European Commission gave the Alvor Estuary Natura 2000 status. Together with local stakeholders, A Rocha proposed to the local and national authorities a management plan for the area that would ensure its sustainable use alongside the conservation of priority habitats and species. To this end A Rocha has just completed the first detailed Global Information System (GIS) mapping of interest features for the Natura 2000 site as an important planning tool, and this will be presented to the city council soon.
Over the past year, the A Rocha Portugal team have been involved in numerous meetings with community and government leaders at local and national level, and with the media. This has involved them in a huge amount of work and expense, and exposed them to much public pressure. We are aware that we are up against very powerful political and economic interests in the Alvor, not to mention the inertia of national and international bureaucracy. This is compounded by sensitive personal issues at all levels.
How can we address this challenge? One place we find our inspiration is
"Under the Bright Wings" - Peter Harris’ book of the story of how A Rocha started in this place in 1983. This is a phrase from a poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins, with the title “God’s Grandeur”:
And for all this, nature is never spent;
There lives the dearest freshness deep down things;
And though the last lights off the black West went
Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs –
Because the Holy Ghost over the bent
World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.
This image of God’s protection was captured in the original logo of A Rocha, with the hoopoe over the map of Portugal. Melody Green’s song
"There is a Redeemer" reminds us that God has left us his “Spirit till the work on earth is done”.
Prayer is at the heart of this campaign. The Message version of 2 Cor. 10: 4 says, “The tools… are for demolishing that entire corrupt culture. We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God.” Alongside prayer, A Rocha’s strategy has been to establish a very active and committed campaign team. Tiago (a young Portuguese research scientist) has offered to devote himself to coordinating the campaign, and financial support from an A Rocha member in the UK has made possible his part-time employment. Please pray for the leaders of A Rocha Portugal and A Rocha International as they engage in numerous discussions at local, national and international levels over the next few months to further the protection of the Alvor Estuary. May the Holy Spirit guide and strengthen the team and protect this beautiful part of his creation.
Thank you for joining with us in prayer,
David & Betty
Praise & prayer:
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Pray for the Portugal team in this “David and Goliath” struggle with only their small sling and a few pebbles, and for an attitude of cooperation from the authorities towards the protection of the Alvor Estuary.
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Pray for Marie Connett Porceddu & family, who have now arrived at the A Rocha France Centre near Arles, as they look for a house to live in nearby, and for their son Daniel staying with friends in Canberra until he finishes his secondary education in November. David will be working closely with her over the next few months.
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Thank God for the Leaders Forum in Kenya, with all the A Rocha’s teams around the world represented. This was a valuable time of re-envisioning and encouragement to all those who came.